Method of making rails



Jan. 26 1926. 1,570,999

E. F. E'NTWISLE METHOD OF MAKING-RAILS Filed June 27. 1924 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 26, 1926.

EDWARD F. ENTWISLE, OF STEELTON, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T0 BETHLEHEM STEEL COMPANY METHOD OF MAKING RAILS.

Application filed June 27, 1924.

2'0 all 10710-222 it may concern.

Be it known that I, EDWARD F. EN'rwIsLn, a citizen of the United States, and residing at Steelton, Dauphin County, State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improven'1ents in Methods of Making Rails, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a process of manufacturing railroad rails, or any rolled shapes offering similar difficulties to manufacture, and it has for an object to provide for camhering of rails at a predetermined temperature, whereby the operation of cambering may be so controlled, for the given temperature, that rails much straighter or of a much greater degree of uniformity may be rolled.

A further object of my invention is to provide a process of manufacture which makes it economically feasible to roll longer rails than at present.

In the manufacture of railroad rails, it is customary practice to camber rails immediately after the rolled section passing from the mill is sawed to lengths and the crop ends are sawed off. From the saw, the rails pass to a cambering machine and then to a hot bed where they cool. This practice is subject to the objections that the sawed sections may vary widely in temperature, with the result that while the sections may be cambered uniformly, they cool through different ranges of temperature with the result Jhat many of the sections may have to be subsequently straightened. Also, this customary arrangement of having the step of cambering follow immediately after hot sawing, results in sections being still quite hot enough not to possess the requisite degree of stiffness to resist bending on the hot bed, particularly if resistance is encountered, if a section is not properly engaged by the translating mechanism of the hot bed, or if a section for any reason is not in proper condition or position for ideal operation of the cooling bed mechanism. This calls for considerable straightening or gagging, which is objectionable both from the standpoint of economy of manufacture and also from the standpoint of the possibility of gagging producing an inferior rail.

Accordingly, therefore, it is an object of my invention to camber rail sections after they attain a predetermined and readily Serial No. 722,846.

ascertainable temperature in order that they may cool straight. In this way, owing to the closer regulation of temperature at which the sections are cambered, the cambering machine may be so set, for a given section that, upon final cooling, the sections will be more uniformly straight than heretofore.

Furthermore, as the step of cambering follows that of preliminary cooling on the hot bed, the bending of sections on the latter apparatus may be efficiently overcome by cambering and subsequent cooling. It is practically impossible to prevent some bends or humps or other distortions taking place in the sections in travelling from the mill to the hot bed on account of the temperature at which it is necessary to complete the rolling process. In the present methods of producing rails these distortions frequently occur after cambering. In my process, however, the sections when cambered are sufficiently cool so that they are not easily distorted and yet the cambering is done at a temperature at which the cambering operation will remove such distortions as may have occurred without danger of injuring the internal structure of the steel, and the sections will come out of the cambering machine curved to a predetermined degree and in a predetermined manner. It is, therefore, possible with my improved process to overcome distortions or bends taking place on the hot bed.

As rails produced by my improved process are more uniformly straight, and as the necessity for gagging is greatly reduced or practically eliminated, itis economically feasible to roll longer rail sections than heretofore.

In the drawing, the figure is a diagrammatic layout to show the relation of the step of ca-mbering to the remaining steps in my process of manufacturing rails.

Referring now to the drawing more in detail for a better understanding of my invention, I show a mill, at 10, discharging a rolled rail shape 11, which is out into sections 12 by the hot saw, at 13.

Instead of the sections 12 being passed immediately to the cambering machine, as has heretofore been the customary practice, such sections are translated on the hot bed, at 14; and after each section is cooled to a suitable extent to acquire a predetermined temperature, it is passed through a cambering machine, at 15, and then to a second cooling bed, at 16.

In accordance with my invention, it is important that sections be passed through the cambering machine at approximately the same temperature in order that, for a given section, the proper amount of camber may be given to produce a straight section on final cooling. To this end, it is necessary to make temperature observations of each section before passage through the cambering machine. A suitable means for this purpose is to determine when each section is cool enough to become magnetic and then to pass it immediately or after a definite interval of time through the cambering machine. The magnetic determination is very accurate I and is now used in other processes of treating rails. \Vhile I prefer to use magnetic means for this purpose, it is to be undo stood that any other suitable temperature indicating or responsive device may be utilized.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent. that my improved process 0t making rails consists in placing the sections on a cooling bed immediately after hot sawing, and then in cambering the sections as they reach a definite temperature. In this way, not only are curves and humps produced on the hot bed overcome, but the sections may be cambered to a predetermined extentto give straight sections upon final cooling. Not only may superior rails be produced by this process, but it is economically feasible to roll longer sections than heretofore.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a process of making rolled shapes which tend to curve upon cooling due to irregular transverse distribution of metal, the steps of cooling the shapes to a predetermined temperature and in immediately can'ibering the sections as they attain the predetermined temperature to such an extent and in such a direction that, in cooling, they will become straight.

In a process of making rails, the steps of cooling the rails on hot bed to a predetermined temperature and in immediately camhering each rail, when it reaches the predetermi ,ed temperature, to such an extent and in s rh a direction that, in cooling, it will become straight.

3, A process of making rails consisting in rolling a rail shape, in severing the shape while hot into sections, in then placing the sections on a hot bed, and in cambering each section as it reaches a predetermined temperature so that, upon final cooling, it will become straight.

A process of making rails consisting in rolling a rail shape, in sererin the shape while hot into sections, in then allmving the sections to cool to a predetermined temperature, and in cambering each section as it reaches a predeternlined temperature, so that, upon final cooling, it will become straight.

A process of making rails which consists in rolling a shape, in cutting the shape into sections while hot, in then cooling the sections until they are magnetic, and then in cambering the sections to give them such a curvature that upon final cooling they will become straight.

in testimony whereof I hereunto afliX my signature this 25th day of June, 1924.

EDWARD F. ENTW ISL'E 

